Some fifty organizations are severely criticizing the Legault government, accusing it of lacking “vision” in the environment, but also of making decisions regarding the energy transition “behind closed doors.” They are also calling for demonstrations in various cities across Quebec on September 27, five years after Greta Thunberg visited Montreal.
In a joint press release published Thursday morning, representatives of the various environmental, union and social organizations deplore “a difficult dialogue with the Legault government and progress that is too slow and insufficient in terms of social and environmental transition.”
The groups emphasize in particular that they requested a meeting with the CAQ government last May, but that this request went unanswered.
“Decisions made in isolation cannot continue,” they accuse today, citing as examples the management of energy and industrial development, “the lack of funding for public transportation networks,” the reform of the Mining Act and the thorny issue of caribou protection.
The organizations insist above all on the need to “accelerate” the energy transition, in order to combat the climate crisis, but also to substantially improve measures in terms of adaptation to the consequences of global climate disruption. They also point out that the summer was marked by extreme weather events and that 2024 is on track to become the hottest year ever recorded.
“If we really want to significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, we can’t just rely on one project in the battery sector: we need to implement several structural and collective projects that affect all spheres of society. It’s high time to take action if we want to reduce the negative impact of climate change,” emphasize the unions that are part of the group, including the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ), the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), the Quebec public and parapublic service union and the provincial government professionals’ union.
“The Quebec government has no structuring vision of the ecological transition and it continues to be more concerned with the profits of multinationals than with the protection of our natural jewels and the common good,” says Louise Morand of the Regroupement Vigilance Énergie Québec.
“Stone Age”
Environmental groups are also calling for a “transformation” of the current economic system, in order to escape “this harmful and dangerous logic of infinite growth.”
Among these environmental groups is Greenpeace Canada, an organization that was accused Wednesday by Environment Minister Benoit Charette of wanting to take Quebec “back to the Stone Age” by advocating for an “impossible” greenhouse gas emissions reduction target.
Per capita, Quebec’s greenhouse gas emissions are significantly higher than what is necessary to limit global warming. They are currently around nine tonnes per citizen.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, average per capita emissions worldwide would need to be reduced to two tonnes to hope to meet the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement, which is to limit global warming to +1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era. This limit could be exceeded within 10 years.
And according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global emissions must fall by 80% by 2035, compared to 2022 levels, for developed economies like Quebec. Developed countries must also advance their global carbon neutrality objective to move towards “net zero” by 2045, according to the IEA. Quebec hopes to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
The fifty or so organizations are organizing demonstrations on September 27 in various cities across Quebec, including Montreal, Quebec City and Sherbrooke. This date coincides with the fifth anniversary of the massive climate demonstration organized in 2019 and in which activist Greta Thunberg participated.
The office of Minister Benoit Charette had not yet reacted at the time of publication of this text.